seoi6 bat1 zoek6睡不著睡不着
Jyutpingseoi6 bat1 zoek6
Yaleseuih bāt jeuhk
Definition
Unable to fall asleep; can't sleep.
colloquialdaily actionshealth
How it's used
Cantonese speakers use 瞓唔著 to describe the inability to drift off, whereas 醒咗 refers to waking up after having already fallen asleep. It is common to add the particle 呀 or 㗎 at the end of a sentence to soften the tone when complaining about insomnia. The character 瞓 is the standard written form for sleep in Cantonese, replacing the Mandarin 睡.
Related words
Common mistake
Learners often mistakenly use 睡不著, which is Mandarin. Always use the Cantonese character 瞓 to sound natural.
Grammar color guide
Noun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb
Pronoun
Classifier
Particle
Connector
Grammar guides
- QuestionsFrom yes or no questions to asking who, what, where, and when. The patterns you need to ask questions naturally in Cantonese.
- ClassifiersCantonese puts a classifier between a number and a noun, and a bare classifier on its own can mean the. Learn the common ones and how to use them.
- ComparisonsHow to say bigger than, the most, the same as, and not as good as. Cantonese uses 過 where Mandarin uses 比, and that catches a lot of learners out.
